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Community to provide 30 handicapped accessible apartments

Kershaw Commons, special needs housing specifically designed for people with Multiple Sclerosis has been completed in Freehold Township, the state Department of Community Affairs announced Thursday.

Located on Applewood Drive, the housing is the first of its kind in New Jersey to be fully accessible to individuals living with MS.

Kershaw Commons includes 31 housing units, with 30 of them set aside for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

There are 25 one-bedroom units and 6 two-bedroom units, one of which is reserved for an on-site superintendent. The building is fully handicapped accessible and includes accessibility features selected specifically to meet the needs of individuals with MS, including automatic light sensors and door openers, wheelchair accessible door widths, corridor railings, and transfer showers.

Regan Development Corporation, a housing construction firm based in Ardsley, N. Y., that specializes in special needs housing developed the project. The support services provider is the New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which is providing a professional services coordinator to help residents with their MS-related questions and arranging their care plan. Additional social services such as money management and entrepreneurial programs will be coordinated by the Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, a non-profit organization that offers community-based services to adults with special needs.

The DCA and state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) committed funding for the project.

“People suffering with Multiple Sclerosis are often relegated to nursing homes and other institutions because they cannot live on their own, DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa said. “Kershaw Commons has changed that dynamic by helping 30 MS patients live as independently as possible.”

“The HMFA is pleased to provide the capital financing that enabled the development of this project, which presents a better living experience for residents living with Multiple Sclerosis,” HMFA Director Anthony L. Marchetta said. “Kershaw Commons is a wonderful example of the good that can come out of public-private partnerships. It also demonstrates that even in times of economic hardship, supportive affordable housing can be successfully developed.”